The Deal Between the Trade Federation and the Sith
by ArwenMUC
Summary: An AU version of The Phantom Menace -- this is the narrative version of my letter stories. It will cover the events of the movie, plus some history about Palpatine, Padme, Anakin, and Shmi. In short, it is TPM my own way. Twists and surprises included


**Author's Note**:

Several people who have been reading my SW letter stories have requested that I write the story in narrative form, so that is what this story will be. This is actually going to be a revision of an earlier story that I posted under my old screen name, which to be very honest, was not very well written. I'm slightly embarrassed when I look back at the older work. (It has been almost ten years since I wrote the original version). If some of you were on Fanfiction. net at that time, you might recognize the plot and story.

This will be one in a series of stories. When I wrote the original version of it, I had two stories that took place before this one. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to re-write those. It'll depend on how well this story goes.

The same general plot that is in the Letter stories is going to be used for this series. I will be pulling stuff from the movies, the letter fanfic stories, and from the original version of the story. This is basically going to be the same story as in the Letter fanfics, except certain details will be different due to the different formats of the stories.

Other points to keep in mind about this fic (I'm basing these comments off of reviews that I received from my old stories):

1.) It is AU – please keep this in mind. Yes, there will be points where it will follow closely with the movies, and there will be other points that it will be completely different. I'm not attempting to follow official SW canon here.

2.) The EU does not exist in my story. I don't follow the SW novels, so what happens in this story is going to be in contradiction to most of the EU.

3.) There seemed to be a lot of confusion with my old stories. Please let me know if you need me to explain something better. I want my story to be understandable.

4.) Reviews and feedback are always welcome.

This particular story is my re-write of Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. The story begins fourteen years before TPM.

The first couple of chapters are meant to introduce you to the themes and characters of the story. There's some back story that I need to explain. This resulted from the fact that this story was originally the third in a series of stories I wrote.

And no, I do not own Star Wars or any of the characters.

The Invasion of Naboo

**Chapter title: Fourteen Years Before the Invasion**

On the planet of Naboo, Yodar Palpatine Kritch sat in a dark cave located in the Lake Country. He impatiently tapped his fingers against the cool cave wall as he waited for his young apprentice to arrive. Yodar smiled to himself as he considered the fact that he was one of the only two Sith in existence. His father, Darth Plagueis, had taught him everything that he knew.

He remembered one story in particular that his father had told him – it was the tale of how he had found the ancient Sith Journal while he was on one of his trips. His father had been Force-sensitive, but had been rejected by the Jedi Council when he had reached the age in which a Jedi Master could take him as a Padawan. The Jedi Council had believed that young Plagueis was not gifted enough to be a Jedi.

When Yodar was born, he had been told by his mother that Plagueis had checked his blood for Force-sensitivity. Finding the results pleasing, Plagueis had given him another name – Darth Sidious. From birth, Yodar was raised in the Sith ways.

When Yodar had learned all he could from his father, he had killed him in his sleep. He remembered being very angry with his father because Plagueis had nearly allowed two Jedi to discover their existence. They had managed to kill the Jedi Master, but unfortunately the apprentice had gotten away. Yodar never learned the identities of this Jedi pair. This, he felt, was regrettable.

Yodar glanced up as he felt the approach of his dark trainee. Darth Sidious had recently decided to take on his first apprentice, Darth Maul. Maul had just barely begun his training.

Maul rushed into the cavern, knowing that it would be wise not to accidentally anger his master. After only three training sessions, he knew that the littlest mistake could raise the wrath of the Sith Lord.

"Ah, good, my young apprentice. I was hoping you wouldn't forget our engagement."

"Yes, Master."

"I have called this special meeting to discuss with you my plans for this galaxy...and mind you, things will change, I guarantee it."

"Please continue, Master."

"Patience, my friend! All will be told in time. My time. I cannot afford to give it to you all at once...for certain reasons."

"You don't trust me?!"

"Silence! I am not done here yet. We will bring this galaxy to order and rule it. Then our revenge on the Jedi will be complete. We must find a way to get to the Republic's center. And I will find one."

"Well, that'll be tough...considering there are new senator elections and none of the candidates would be likely to agree with us."

Yodar Kritch laughed his evil laugh. "So sure, are you? You will find that there are many surprises...."

"Master, we must be reasonable. You know Palpatine's going to win. He has so much public support...He'd never side with us."

Darth Sidious smiled evilly. "No, no, these plans have nothing to do with the Senate election.... but the entire galaxy itself." Another evil laugh broke his dialogue. "I promise you, my young apprentice, we will soon be on top of the galaxy and freedom will be crushed." He laughed an evil sound that echoed through the underground space. "I think it is time for you to know that I am Palpatine."

Yodar pulled back his garment so that Darth Maul could see his actual face.

Naboo was preparing for a Senate election. The previous Senator from Naboo had just stepped down from power. Palpatine had been preparing for this election ever since he had learned that the current Senator would be leaving office.

"Now, my apprentice, you must excuse me. I have an important appointment with a member of the Naboo Ruler's Council regarding the upcoming election."

"Who are you meeting, Master?"

"It is none of your concern." With that, Palpatine turned to leave.

He smiled as he made his way to the house of Ruwee Amidala. Ever since he had come to Naboo as a young man, he had chosen to be known by his middle name. He did not want to chance anyone finding out his past.

_____________

**Meanwhile….**

Ruwee Amidala sat next to his wife, Jobal, on a couch in their living room. Both of them knew that Jobal was only a few days away from giving birth to their second child, a girl. Ruwee glanced at the paperwork that sat on a small end table that was next to where he was seated. He sighed. The Senate elections on Naboo were taking their toll on his body, and he knew it. He himself was not running for office, but the Naboo Ruler's Council had been meeting for the past few nights to discuss the possible candidates. As Ruwee let out a sigh, there was a knock on the door.

Jobal shifted her weight, alerting Ruwee to the fact that she was about to get up.

"I'll get it, Dear. There's no need for you to get up."

"But you're exhausted. It isn't a problem. I'm not an invalid, you know."

Ruwee glanced at his wife, and one look in her direction told him that he should just let her answer the door.

Jobal approached the door, and opened it a crack. The face of one of the candidates for the Senate seat greeted her.

Palpatine smiled down at her. "Hello Jobal. It's always a pleasure to see you. Is your husband home?"

"Yes, let me get him for you."

Palpatine waited as Jobal went to get her husband.

"One of the candidates for the Senate wants to speak with you."

Ruwee inwardly groaned. "_Not another one_," he thought. Out loud he told Jobal, "All right, I'll see him."

Ruwee quickly rose and went over to the waiting Palpatine.

"Hello, Palpatine," he stated brightly, "It's nice of you to stop by. Please come in."

He led the candidate into the living room, where Jobal had reseated herself. Once all three of them were sitting down and comfortable, Ruwee spoke up.

"What is it you wished to discuss?"

Palpatine studied him carefully before responding. "I heard about what happened to your daughter Sola and I came to offer my protective services in exchange for something from you."

Ruwee stared at Palpatine. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"No, I am not. Rather, I was merely suggesting that if you voted for me, I would do everything in my power to protect your new child." As he said that, he nodded to Jobal's bulging stomach.

"How do you know what happened to Sola?" Ruwee whispered.

"Word about your family travels around on Naboo, especially in the circles of politicians. Surely you must know that."

"People don't exactly talk about me in my family in my presence. They know better than to bring up Sola."

"But I can see it in your eyes that you fear that the same fate will befall your second child. There is little doubt that it was the Maurader Organization that stole her from you."

At that point, Jobal began to cry. "Please….Palpatine…..the day Sola was born is a painful memory for us. She was taken from us just hours after her birth."

Ruwee moved to put his hand around his wife, pulling her close to him and into a hug.

The Maurader Organization existed apart from the Republic. They had their own government, though only a handful of systems claimed membership in it. The Hutts were well known members of this Maurder Organization. The Mauraders were notorious for their kidnapping habits. Several thousand children across the galaxy had gone missing on account of them. The children who were kidnapped were not always babies.

Ruwee knew that any offspring of his would be a prime target for the Mauraders. It appeared that they liked to take the children of prominent members of planets. He could trace his ancestry all the way back to the founding of the Republic. His ancestor was the first king of Coruscant. The kingship had passed down through his family line. Eventually, his family had moved to Naboo in order to escape from bounty hunters who were working for someone who wanted to see the family dead. Because of who they were, Ruwee's ancestors were made the royal family of Naboo. Their ruler ship of the planet lasted for many years. The people of Naboo eventually voted to have their ruler elected rather than selected by blood. The Naboo still were well aware of who Ruwee was, and who his ancestors were.

Knowing that what he was about to say would be hard for his wife to hear; he turned to her and gently whispered, "Jobal, we need to figure out a way to protect our daughter."

"I know. I'm worried that the Mauraders will take her like they took Sola."

"So am I. That's why I think it would be best if we gave her to someone else to raise."

Jobal took a deep breath. She had been thinking the same thing. "I don't want to give her up, but I cannot think of another option either. Who could we trust to raise our daughter?"

"The only one that I can think of is Dalben. He was a good friend of my father's, and I know that I can trust him."

Jobal nodded. "He would be all right. I trust him, too."

Palpatine watched the entire exchange between the wife and husband. Once there was a lull in the conversation, Palpatine again voiced his offer.

"There are other ways besides giving her up to someone else to raise. I could secure her safety for you if…."

Ruwee cut him off. "I am very much aware of your offer, but no thank you. I will not be bribed into voting for you or for anyone else. Now please leave; you've upset us enough."

Palpatine knew he had little other choice but to do as Ruwee requested. He hated the fact that Ruwee was not someone that he could buy support from.

After Palpatine had left, Ruwee glanced at his wife.

"I don't like him; I don't trust him. I hope he's not elected."

Jobal nodded her head in agreement. Her face was still wet from crying.

"I'm going to contact Dalben. Is that all right with you?"

"Go ahead."

In a matter of minutes, all the arrangements were made. When Padme was born, she was taken to live with Dalben.

_____________

**Two weeks later….**

Although there were many people qualified to run in the Naboo Senate elections, there was one man in particular that was favored to win, and that was none other than Palpatine. The candidates for the election stood on a platform in front of the Naboo palace, facing the Naboo people. Each candidate took his or her turn to give a speech.

When Palpatine's turn finally came, he slowly moved over to the podium. Giving a quick smile to the people of Naboo, he scanned their faces carefully.

He cleared his throat to address the audience, "People of the esteemed planet of Naboo, I have lived with you for some time now. I believe that this planet needs a Senator that has the ability to bring the proper attention that his planet needs in the Senate.

Unfortunately, our former Senator could not do that, and thus, the people have suffered. We could use some more ships, supplies, and other important necessities that guarantee that our beloved planet meets its full potential. I believe I would be the perfect candidate."

After stating his initial introduction, he launched into the issues that were dearest to the Naboo's hearts. He ended the speech with the words, "Thank you for your attention."

The other candidates also spoke, but no one seemed to have the fire that Palpatine showed. Darth Maul was in the audience, attending the speeches.

"How can Darth Sidious guarantee that he will win? That Kathy Jones candidate seems to be a person easy to control, to influence..."

Palpatine stepped back to hear the other candidates speak. The elections would be held the following day. A man by the name of Sampson QuiQue was competing with him. He was also looking to be favored, but Palpatine was more so. After Sampson was done with his speech, he went around, gloating to Palpatine. The people received Sampson well. The odds were now even between the two, or so it looked from the crowd. Sampson had really given all he could in his speeches. He had his own reasons for being elected. He could care less about the people. Money was all that he loved. He hoped to turn all the water spots on Naboo into tourist attraction sights, knowing that he could make a great profit from this. Darth Maul paged Sidious.

"Yes, I'm aware of the situation, Maul. Sampson QuiQue may win. I must win, Maul; it is the only way."

With that, he cut off Maul.

Darth Maul only shrugged and hoped that Sidious knew what he was doing.

________________

**One day later…**

It was finally the day of the elections.

Palpatine waited patiently for the results of the election as people began pouring in and out of the palace of Naboo, in order to cast their vote for Senator.

Signs that read, "Vote for Palpatine" littered the walls of Theed,although QuiQue attempted to outdo Palpatine in campaign advertisements, and just as many posters were printed with his name on it than as with Palpatine's. Once all the votes had been cast, there was little else to do but wait in anticipation.

The elected king of Naboo called up the top three candidates – Palpatine, QuiQue, and Kathy Jones.

As it was always done, the king reached for the special Senator's stick, as had also become a tradition, and announced, "Well, it was a close call. Any one of these three candidates up here would have done a fine job, and I wish they could all be Senator, but there's only room for one."

So, he raised the stick and prepared to throw it. He threw it in the direction of one of the candidates, and Palpatine caught it.

"He won by one vote, beating Sampson QuiQue."

The king said this with a little smile. Palpatine smiled, also.

"Here is Senator Palpatine."

After this ceremony, Palpatine was the head of the receiving line.

As Darth Maul was passing, Palpatine turned to him and whispered in a reassuring tone, "Told you things would work out."

Senator Palpatine began his duties as Senator right away, making frequent visits to Coruscant.

_______________

**Meanwhile…..**

Brax Corta studied his wife Ellen's face. She was the happiest that he'd seen her in a long time. Their baby son, Arawn, was sleeping silently in his crib. The past couple of nights he had actually slept through the night. Ellen shifted her eyes in baby Arawn's direction.

"Your father would be so proud of his grandson."

"I know. It's been so long since his death, but yet it seems like it was only yesterday. The fact that he was a Jedi meant that he could only see my mother and me on special occasions. Still, when he was around, all the time that we spent together was valuable."

Ellen then turned so that she was facing the window.

"It's a beautiful day. It would be a nice day for a walk."

Brax smiled at her. "Yes, it would be. Let's go."

"But what about Arawn?"

"He's sleeping. He'll be fine. We will only be gone for ten minutes, at the most."

With that said, Brax and Ellen left for their walk. They were unaware of the fact that someone had come into their house while they were talking. A man dressed in orange waited for the two to leave before he dashed down the hall. He found the room that Arawn was sleeping in, and snatched the sleeping baby.

* * *

One year later….

The leader of the Marauder Organization approached the Republic Senate with a request to purchase the planet Tatooine from the Republic. Representatives from Tatooine were present at the Senate sessions. Supreme Chancellor Locon Spellbinder stepped down from office that same year, and a new Supreme Chancellor was elected, Chancellor Valorum. Under the leadership of Chancellor Valorum, the Senate agreed to grant the Marauders Tatooine for a dear price. Shortly after the purchase of Tatooine, a Hutt named Jabba the Hutt became the Marauder in charge of running the planet Tatooine. So, Jabba created a Palace for himself there, complete with dancing girls. Jabba was strange about that, as he absolutely loved them! Pod racing was introduced to Tatooine, and was an instant success. The sport was very fast, and very dangerous. Humans could not do it…or at least no human yet had been able to. Other species could do it due to having a different set of organs than humans. And with the Pod racing came two other things to Tatooine: gambling and slavery. New shops opened up in the major spaceports, and demand for slaves grew. The Republic now no longer ruled Tatooine, thus the Republic's anti-slavery laws no longer applied to Tatooine. This planet was one of the very few that had slavery.

These developments did not occur without having an impact on the planet's population. When news of this reached them, they could really do nothing.

Not only did the purchase of Tatooine have an impact on the locals, but many beings were attracted to the planet, including one large blue bug-like like flying creature named Watto. He came to Tatooine for the purpose of becoming a slaver, and that is just what he did – it did not take long before he began acquiring slaves.

The effects on one particular family were enormous. It was late on a Thursday night, and Summoner Skywalker once again found himself in the cantina in Mos Eisley. As was his habit, he sat on a stool at the bar, drinking his favorite beverage, while waiting for his gambling buddies to arrive. The waiting gave the man time to think.

"What am I going to do now? Shmi's just given birth to another baby. How can I support the family?"

The moisture farming business had taken a heavy blow the past several seasons, so the income was not what Summoner had been hoping for. Not only that, but his newest hobby of gambling was not helping matters. He knew that he really should not be out gambling tonight, especially with the birth of little Owen. He also knew that he should have been spending more time with his one year old son, Rhun.

Summoner had spent so little time with the two day old baby and his older brother. In fact, he knew that he was purposely avoiding the baby, afraid of what he might discover about his son.

"What if this child is Force-sensitive like my father?"

That thought scared him more than anything else. Summoner knew that Force-sensitivity could be hereditary. He himself was not Force-sensitive, but his father Lowdun was. The thing was that Lowdun had been a Jedi Padawan until he quit. From what Summoner could gather from Lowdun's many stories, an evil force user called a Sith had killed Lowdun's Jedi Master, Frey Corta. Lowdun had blamed himself for what happened to his master, and had left the Jedi Order. Lowdun had informed him that the Jedi Council was never told about the mysterious Sith who had killed Frey. Summoner guessed that there was more to the story, but that was all that he knew. Summoner hoped that having one of the most common last names in the galaxy would help cover up the fact that his father had been a Jedi.

Thankfully, Rhun had not been force sensitive. Baby Owen was not yet old enough for Summoner to test him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the door opened to reveal his gambling buddies.

* * *

**Author's Note Again**: I want to give a special thank you to all who contributed to the writing of this chapter. This includes friends and beta readers who looked over this chapter, as well as all of you who encouraged me to write this. Thank you to my co-writers for my letter stories -- some of your work will appear in the story. :)

And thanks to all my old readers from my old screen name. Your encouragement and support have been valuable. I probably would not be posting this now if you had not supported me all those years ago when I first posted here.

I hope that you all enjoyed this first chapter. There will definitely be more to come!

Because several of my readers have suggested that they're confused by the characters, hopefully this will help clarify who people are:

**Character Index for Chapter One**:

Yodar Palpatine Kritch = After this chapter, he will be referred to only as Palpatine or Sidious. He ran for the Senate elections on Naboo and won. He is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious. His father was Darth Plagueis, who he trained under. He is currently training Darth Maul to be his apprentice.

Darth Plagueis = Palpatine/Sidious' father. He was a wayward Jedi who discovered the Sith Journal many years ago, and around that same time he fought with a Jedi named Frey Corta. He was killed by Palpatine. Trained his son Palpatine as a Sith.

Darth Maul = Darth Sidious' (Palpatine)'s apprentice. He is a Sith.

Ruwee Amidala = He is the husband of Jobal, father of Padme and Sola, and also was descended from a special royal family. He holds an important office in Naboo politics. Friend of Dalben.

Jobal Amidala = She is the wife of Ruwee, mother of Padme and Sola. Friend of Dalben.

Sola Amidala = She is the oldest daughter of Ruwee and Jobal. Sola was kidnapped by an organization called the Maurders when she was a baby. Ruwee and Jobal were unable to find her. Padme is her sister.

Padme Amidala = She is the younger daughter of Ruwee and Jobal, and is Sola's sister. She was sent off to live with Ruwee and Jobal's friend, Dalben, who is raising her.

Naboo = the planet that Palpatine, Ruwee, Jobal, Dalben, and Padme are from.

The Maurder Organization = An organization that exists outside of the Republic, and has several planets belonging to it. It functions sort of like a mini-Repbulic. The Hutts are high up in the ranks. It is also known for instituting slavery within its jurisdiction. Slavers belonging to this group sometimes kidnap small children and raise them as slaves for their own purposes.

Republic = Most of the planets in the galaxy belong to this. It's a system of government that overseas things within its jurisdiction. Its capital is a planet called Coruscant.

Coruscant = a planet – the capital of the Republic

Tatooine = a desert planet that has been transferred into the Maurder Organization

Summoner Skywalker = Shmi's husband, Lowdun's son, Rhun and Owen's father, has a gambling problem, moisture farmer on Tatooine

Rhun Skywalker = Owen's older brother, Shmi's son, Summoner's son, lives on Tatooine with his family. Lowdun is his grandfather.

Owen Skywalker = Rhun's younger brother, Shmi's son, Summoner's son, lives on Tatooine with his family. Lowdun is his grandfather.

Lowdun Skywalker = was apprenticed to Frey Corta as a Jedi apprentice, however, after an incident with Darth Plagueis that resulted in Frey's death, Lowdun quit the Jedi Order. He is Summoner's father, and Rhun and Owen's grandfather.

Frey Corta = was Lowdun's Jedi Master until he was killed by Darth Plagueis, is Brax's father and Arawn's grandfather. (Yes, he went against the Jedi Code and got married).

Jedi = the guardians of peace and justice in the Republic, enemy of the Sith

Sith = the enemies of the Jedi, they are like the Jedi, only evil

Shmi Skywalker = the wife of Summoner, mother of Owen and Rhun – she lives on Tatooine with her family

Jabba the Hutt = the Hutt who became in charge of Tatooine, is part of the Maurder Organization

Supreme Chancellor Valorum = the new Supreme Chancellor of the Senate in the Republic

Supreme Chancellor Locon Spellbinder = the previous Supreme Chancellor of the Senate in the Republic

Arawn Corta = Brax and Ellen's son, grandson of Frey…was kidnapped by the Maurders when he was a baby. Brax and Ellen don't know where he is.

Brax Corta = Ellen's husband, Arawn's father, Frey's son

Ellen Corta = Brax's wife, Arawn's mother

Sampson Quique = ran against Palpatine in the Senate elections on Naboo

Kathy Jones = ran against Palpatine in the Senate elections on Naboo

Dalben = friend of Ruwee and Jobal Amidala, agreed to raise Padme

(That should be everyone. If I left someone out….let me know)

______

And finally, I would like to offer in a plug for a couple stories I'm co-writing with someone else. They are NOT in the Star Wars fandom, but you should still be able to understand them, even if you are unfamiliar with the fandom they are in.

The first is called Infinity Possibility Sequel – I wrote chapters 17 and 18…and I would appreciate some feedback on those chapters.

The other is called the Time War Chronicles (my work for that story hasn't been posted yet).

If you like my writing, then go check out those two stories.


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